Polish judges reject government's reform of top court

WARSAW, March 9 (Reuters) - Poland's top court ruled on
Wednesday that the government's planned overhaul of the tribunal
was illegal, deepening a constitutional crisis that has stirred
concerns about democracy and the rule of law in the EU's largest
eastern member.

The ruling right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) has
approved a law increasing the number of judges needed to make
rulings and changing the order in which cases are heard. It also
rejected court appointments made by the previous government.

The government's critics say the changes undermine the
court's effectiveness, while the European Union and the United
States have also expressed concerns.

PiS says the changes are needed to reflect the new balance
of power in Poland after its landslide election win last year.

"Dramatically limiting the court's ability to function
independently and thoroughly contravenes Poland's (political)
system and cannot be tolerated," Judge Stanislaw Biernat said,
announcing the ruling at the end of a two-day court sitting.

The government said it regards the ruling as non-binding.

The timing of the court's verdict is politically sensitive.

The Council of Europe, a human rights body, is due to issue
an opinion this week on Poland's legal changes.

The European Commission, the EU executive, has said it wants
to see that opinion before making its own assessment of Poland's
adherence to EU standards on the rule of law.

Critics say the changes, which prompted Brussels to launch
the rule of law procedure for the first time in its history,
have paralysed the court's work, making it difficult for judges
to review, let alone challenge the government's legislation.

The government said before Wednesday's ruling that it would
not publish the court's verdict in the official journal - a
legal requirement - arguing that the tribunal's proceedings were
unlawful as they did not follow rules outlined in the new law.

A leaked draft of the Council of Europe's opinion on the
changes said the reform of Poland's top court threatened the
rule of law.

PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said the draft was "legally
absurd," signalling the government was unlikely to back down in
the dispute.
(Reporting by Wiktor Szary; Editing by Gareth Jones)